After we left the Capitol building, we headed down the street to meet another Patriot Academy friend, Jacque O., at the Good Stuff Eatery. The only problem – we were heading the wrong direction. So, we walked round and round and round….
So we saw a U.S. Courthouse…
And the National Archives….
And the Canadian Embassy, which has a privileged place in the Capitol in return for a privileged place for our Embassy in theirs….
And thousands of crosswalks….
Aaron checked the political wind to see if that would help…..
We saw the Supreme Court…..
And finally we found her! And we also discovered that the restaurant is not called the Good Stuff Eatery for nothing. Let me tell you….that is some GOOD eating! The hamburgers are small, but I think mine was more filling that others, based on the after-dinner conversations. They should’ve ordered the “Good Stuff Melt”. Yum!
Patriot Reunion! It was so much fun to meet up in DC. Left to right is: Aaron Snodderly, Jacque Otto, yours truly, and Jonathon.
And Jackie and I were the only ones who had our golf balls! (We were given our golf balls at Patriot Academy. The leadership said that they represented our character and integrity, so we should treat them as such.)
Next stop: the Union Station, where the car was parked. This is a magnificent, stately bus/train depot and parking garage. It almost looks like an airport inside.
We were tired and windblown, but otherwise very happy, and we knew where we were going and how to get there! Hurray!
Next on schedule: Arlington cemetary, and our first introduction to the preferred mode of transit next to walking: the Metro trains! We became very good friends with the Metro before we left DC.
I find it incomprehensible how the entirety of our Federal government can live within site of this sacred place, and be so unaffected by it. It is maddening how they trample on the sacrifices made by the thousands who have died to preserve, not only America, but everything our country stands for.
After missing our tour bus in Arlington (we seem to have a knack for that sort of thing, don’t we?), we made our way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and watched the changing of the guard.
Here we are in the Arlington Amphitheater.
After Arlington, we headed out to find the location where the sign-making party was being held. Jonathon was scheduled to help as a volunteer, so we started out pronto. Once again, however, we had the wrong name for the location. So guess what happened? That’s right – we got lost again.
We were rescued by two friendly TEA-party protesters who got lost with us, and finally gave up and hailed a couple of taxies. At this point in DC, the people you ran into on the streets and in the Metro stations were most likely fellow protesters. These two gentlemen felt like family after the first five minutes. Between the two of them, they’ve done just about everything – ranching, bull-riding, flying helicopters, secret service, military service….
Joe Wilson was the most popular man in DC for once – there were hundreds of signs alluding to his outburst to Obama and showing support for him.
We met some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet here. The camraderie and excitement crackling in the air can’t be described – you would just have had to be there. It was amazing, and the feeling was growing that we were going to have an unbelievable turnout for tomorrow’s rally…..
And that wraps up day two!
Awesome! I so wish I could have been there with y’all!